vimy memorial
- Thread starter grouseman
- Start date
- Location
- Pile of Bones, SK
Great pics, a place every true Canadian needs to visit.
I also urge anyone, but especially Canadians to visit the Vimy battlefield. The tunnel is not to be missed, and I remember stuff embedded in the walls. I took a couple of pictures, but with a cheap camera, and they aren't as good as that one. I was talking to an ex-Royal Engineer I knew when I lived in England, just before I made the trip, and he told me about clearing the site - as safe as you can think possible, he said, but no guarantees.
(It's a bit of a shame they had to get the British Army to do it, but apparently when the project got to that stage Canadian Forces had all its Engineer assets committed elsewhere. At least that is what he was told. It was easier for the British Army of the Rhine, of course, being much bigger and much closer than our brigade group in the south.)
(It's a bit of a shame they had to get the British Army to do it, but apparently when the project got to that stage Canadian Forces had all its Engineer assets committed elsewhere. At least that is what he was told. It was easier for the British Army of the Rhine, of course, being much bigger and much closer than our brigade group in the south.)
Even with the restoration I was extremely disappointed with the whole Vimy experience. The tunnel tour was run by two teenage girls from Canada, part of the student program they have, and they were terrible. The actually told the group that officers laughed and "giggled" in the officer's mess and that the Black Watch lead the attack on Vimy. While I know that she meant the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, I bet the 18 Brits all thought it was their Black Watch. I just don't understand how something as important as the Vimy memorial can be left in the hands of a bunch of Teenagers, and with the bilingual requirements, mostly Quebecois teenagers. I compare that experience to the tours of the Salient I took and the professional, knowledgeable ex-military guides I had. The Vimy guides weren't a shadow on those fellows.
Unfortunately when I was there we got a very fast run through, didn't even have time to go into the tunnels or anything. I was part of an international tour group, and none of the non-Canadians had any interest in staying and looking around!
